Metcalf Stories

The Foundation is committed to sharing stories about events, initiatives, challenges, and accomplishments related to our work and the work of our partners. We believe in the extraordinary good that can arise when individuals and organizations work together to reconsider the ways in which society sets priorities and realizes long-term systemic change.

On Thursday November 1, 2018 members of Toronto’s environmental community gathered for the launch of Graham Saul’s Metcalf Innovation paper Environmentalists, what are we fighting for? Graham Saul has spent over 25 years working on social and environmental issues in Canada, Washington, and Mozambique,...

CBC Radio Ideas recently broadcast a talk by Metcalf Innovation Fellow Graham Saul in an episode entitled Why is Environmentalism Failing? It was recorded in Toronto at the beginning of November at a speech Graham gave at the launch of his paper, Environmentalists, what are we fighting for?
Why is Environmentalism...

In mid-November, Metcalf grantee Environmental Defence released Pollution Solutions: Eleven Ways Ontario Can Take Action on Climate Change, a comprehensive report that outlines a range of solutions Ontario can immediately implement to cut carbon pollution.
The current provincial government has said it will not put a...

Established in 2005, the Metcalf Innovation Fellowship program provides critical thinkers with the opportunity to ask hard questions and propose solutions to systemic issues in areas which the Foundation works, namely the Performing Arts, Environment, and Inclusive Local Economies.
To date, the Foundation has...

On Wednesday October 10, members of Toronto’s performing arts community gathered at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse for a public sharing and reception of the remarkable work of the 2015 CrSI cohort. Leaders from The Company Theatre, Nightwood Theatre, b current performing arts co., and Soundstreams...

As part of a Metcalf Leading and Learning grant, representatives from Équiterre, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, and Régénération Canada traveled to California in September to learn more about the critical role that agriculture can play in mitigating climate change.
The three organizations participated in...

On October 4, 2018 Metcalf grantee FoodReach launched a new online portal that will allow community agencies access to affordable, fresh, and nutritious food for their clients and also announced its merger into North York Harvest Food Bank, another Metcalf grantee.
Founded in 2015, FoodReach is a community-led food...

According to a poll commissioned by Metcalf grantees, The David Suzuki Foundation and Cycle Toronto, 80 per cent of Toronto residents support the building of protected bike lanes. In an exclusive given to the CBC, the broadcaster reported that support for protected lanes is highest amongst those living in the downtown...

A recent video campaign by the Better Way Alliance showcases some of their members talking about the benefits of a $15 per hour minimum wage, which is set to go into effect in January 2019.
“Video is one of the best ways to get our message out in a quick and interesting way,” said Gilleen Pearce, Better...

Environmentalist Graham Saul is the most recent Metcalf Innovation Fellow. The Metcalf Innovation Fellowship program provides critical thinkers with the opportunity to ask hard questions and propose solutions to systemic issues in the areas in which the Foundation works. Over the years, Metcalf Innovation Fellows have...

The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of fourteen Toronto-based performing arts companies and organizations for acceptance into Stage 1 of Staging Change, Metcalf’s latest version of its multi-year strategic funding program in the Performing Arts.
The cohort for Stage 1, comprised of companies,...

At the June retreat of the 2018 Toronto Sector Skills Academy, PHI President Jodi Sturgeon presented a case study that focused on her organization’s approach to improving job quality, workforce opportunity, and career mobility for direct care health workers (known in Ontario as personal support workers). The...

The opening of a shipping container cafe in R.V. Burgess Park is the latest development in the remarkable 10-year process spearheaded by the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee to transform this once-neglected 1.5 hectare park into a vibrant and beloved community meeting place.

In 2017, the National Theatre of School of Canada launched the Artistic Leadership Residency Program. With support from the Birks Family Foundation, BMO, and Metcalf, the residency aims to become the gold-standard training program referenced by boards of directors, recruitment agencies, and organizations looking to...

In early June, Metcalf invited Jodi Sturgeon to join our 2018 Toronto Sector Skills Academy as a guest faculty member. Jodi is President of PHI, America’s leading authority on the direct care workforce. In the United States, direct care workers, home care aides, and certified nursing assistants perform a role...

The Foundation is pleased to announce the Hudson Bay and James Bay Lowlands and the Mackenzie River Basin as our geographical areas of funding focus under Carbon Landscapes’ Strategy 2.
Funding will support on-the-ground protection, restoration, and stewardship efforts to store and sequester carbon in these two...

Metcalf is delighted to announce the inaugural grants in our Environment Program’s Carbon Landscapes funding stream.
The goal of Carbon Landscapes is to connect climate action and conservation initiatives in Canada in order to help advance nature-based climate solutions. We have a two-track funding strategy to...

Metcalf is pleased to announce the first cohort of grantees in our Environment Program’s Climate Blueprints funding stream. The goal of Climate Blueprints is to produce implementable policy reports – accessible, well-researched, and balanced – that act as guides for achieving climate commitments at the...

Metcalf is pleased to announce that three initiatives were awarded grants from our Leading and Learning granting program.
The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation in partnership with Équiterre and Regeneration Canada received a Network Learning Fund grant for $12,000. In the Fall of 2018, representatives from the...

Performing arts companies from cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Edmonton and Cleveland have all adopted adaptive change to confront and solve complex challenges. Working with EmcArts, each organization questioned existing assumptions, undertook a series of experiments, and found a new path forward. Taken together,...

For the Green Budget Coalition, the 2018 federal budget is cause for celebration. The Liberal government has committed $1.3B over five years to expand protected ecosystems, broaden species protection, and support Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship.
“This is a game-changer for conservation in Canada,”...

Metcalf is delighted to announce that three initiatives in our Environment Program’s Cycle City funding stream have been greenlit for 2018.
Charlie’s FreeWheels has been awarded $20,000 over one year to support its work in collaboration with three other grassroots community bike shops to share resources, organize...

One of the foremost experts on poverty in Canada, John Stapleton has dedicated the greater part of the past fifty years to improving income security for all Canadians. Following a twenty-eight year career with the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, where he held a number of positions including Senior...

The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to welcome advisors to our two new Environment Program funding streams, Carbon Landscapes and Climate Blueprints, as well as to our existing Cycle City fund.
Advisor input is a critical part of Metcalf’s funding decision-making process. Committee members review funding proposals and...

The Metcalf Foundation, in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program and with support from the Counselling Foundation of Canada, is pleased to announce the selection of twenty-four participants for the 2018 Toronto Sector Skills Academy.
The following individuals have been granted...

When Richard Evans co-founded EmcArts 20 years ago, he recognized that, though many arts organizations wanted to adapt and innovate in response to a rapidly changing world, they often lacked the necessary tools to successfully move forward. Two decades later, Richard is now regarded as a leader in adaptive change for...

The Metcalf Foundation is one of Canada’s leading private foundations. Our mission is to enhance the effectiveness of people and organizations working together to help Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy, and creative society. Our work is focused in three areas:
Leveraging opportunities for new...

Pictured above is EmcArts Managing Director Melissa Dibble who will be working with Metcalf to deliver the Staging Change Associate Facilitator Training Initiative.
The following message was sent from Sandy Houston, Metcalf’s President and CEO, to sector partners and colleagues in March 2018 sharing more...

Bicyclists and pedestrians account for 59 per cent of all the people killed or seriously injured on Toronto’s streets between 2005 and 2016 according to a new report released by Toronto Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT), with partial funding by the Metcalf Foundation. Learning to be a Bicycle-Friendly Driver:...

Sheila Maguire has few rivals in the world of workforce development. In a career spanning over four decades, she has worked on three continents and created employment training leadership programs across North America. Her work in developing job programs has improved the lives of welfare recipients, people returning...

Pictured above is Richard Evans, President of EmcArts. Richard will be working with Metcalf to deliver Staging Change.
The following message was sent from Sandy Houston, Metcalf’s President and CEO, to sector partners and colleagues in February 2018 announcing the launch of a new program in the Performing...

A group of Members of Parliament and Senators from the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democratic parties have co-signed a letter to federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, requesting that the government invest $1.4 billion over the next three years to expand Canada’s protected land and marine areas. As reported in...

As part of the federal Smart Cities Challenge, the City of Toronto wants to hear the new and ambitious ideas of community organizations and individuals about how data and technology can be utilized to create to make a meaningful impact to life in Toronto. The potential of all aspects of city living, everything from...

Below is an except from a message sent from Sandy Houston, Metcalf’s President and CEO, to sector partners and colleagues in our Performing Arts Program.
In January, we will be publishing a Metcalf Innovation Fellowship paper that looks at some transformative opportunities that social finance tools and...

Achieving Canada’s long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets will require stronger policies to encourage the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), according to a new report released today from Simon Fraser University’s Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team (START). Funded in part by Metcalf, the...

A new paper from the Mowat Centre, funded by the Metcalf Foundation, argues that Canada’s persistent inability to meet self-imposed greenhouse gas emission reduction targets stems not so much from a lack of will but rather from institutional challenges. Currently, Canada has fourteen separate federal, provincial and...

A recently published research paper commissioned by the Toronto Arts Foundation with the support of the Metcalf Foundation and Toronto Arts Council highlights two exciting initiatives designed to allow Toronto’s independent theatre to flourish. Generator and The RISER Project: Sector Developers for Independent...

To address the growing interest and need for sector-focused workforce development in Toronto, in 2016 the Metcalf Foundation established the Toronto Sector Skills Academy in partnership with the highly regarded Aspen Institute. This leadership program is the first of its kind in Canada. Participants in the Toronto...

The following note was sent from Sandy Houston, Metcalf’s President and CEO, to sector partners and colleagues in November 2017 announcing the launch of a new funding stream in our Environment Program along with other important updates.
Dear Colleagues,
When the Metcalf Foundation launched the Environment...

Following a year-long pilot project on Bloor Street, on November 7 Toronto City Council voted 36 to 6 in favour of making the bike lanes between Avenue Road and Shaw Street permanent.
“We are pleased with the outcome,” says Andre Vallillee, the Metcalf Foundation’s Environment Program Director.
Council initially...

Earlier this year, the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development introduced the Sector Partnership Planning Grant (SPPG). The objective of the grant is to develop strategies that align job training with the skills needed for a particular industry or sector to grow and compete in the new economy....

Most Canadians don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the carbon footprint of freight. But we should and we must think about it, according to Bora Plumptre, Eli Angen, and Dianne Zimmerman, authors of The State of Freight: Understanding greenhouse gas emissions from goods movement in Canada. This comprehensive new...

In its annual budget report released late September, the Green Budget Coalition of Canada advises that a substantial public investment in Canada’s ecosystems and species is required to protect and restore Canada’s land, inland waters, and oceans. “All ecosystem types in Canada are declining and the number of...

Mayor John Tory took a cargo bike out for a spin in a show of support for the announcement by UPS that they are launching a cargo bike delivery pilot project in Toronto. The announcement coincided nicely with the October release of Cyclelogistics: Opportunities for moving goods by bicycle in Toronto published by the...

In September, participants from the Foundation’s 2014 Creative Strategies Incubator gathered to present their findings gleaned from three years of strategic experimentation and shared learning. Through individual initiatives, each of the companies explored how to engage with audiences and build communities. The...

From a commitment to developing deeper relationships with underserved communities such as francophone youth, Spanish-speakers, newcomers, Indigenous people, and people with visible and invisible disabilities, to a dream of taking an underutilized space and transforming it into a vibrant cultural hub, five new projects...

Over the past year, the Metcalf Foundation in partnership with Powerline Films captured the transformation of Bloor Street as part of the pilot bike lane study. This short video sheds light on the perspectives, issues, and results from this critical cycling project. We thank our partners at the City of Toronto,...

The Metcalf Foundation is delighted to announce the five companies selected to participate in the 2017 Creative Strategies Incubator (CrSI). Aluna Theatre, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Fringe, Le Théâtre français de Toronto, and Young People’s Theatre will spend the next three years exploring strategies around...

Congratulations to The Artists Mentoring Youth (AMY) Project for winning the Toronto Arts Foundation’s 2017 Arts for Youth Award. The award honours an individual, collective, or organization that makes a significant impact in engaging youth through the arts and in artistic creation in Toronto.
The AMY Project...

80% of Torontonians support bike lanes. That’s the findings from a new poll funded by the Metcalf Foundation and commissioned by the David Suzuki Foundation in partnership with Cycle Toronto. The poll revealed that there is clearly growing support, both across the city and across demographics, for bicycle lanes....

The Transition Takes Hold, the latest report from Metcalf grantee Clean Energy Canada, is part of their annual Tracking the Energy Revolution series that examines clean energy market trends.
The new report analyzes global clean energy investments and reveals that the world’s three largest electricity markets —...

A rising carbon price is the most cost-effective way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But on its own, it’s not enough. That’s why other complementary policies are needed. Determining what those complementary policies are, is the focus of a new report: Supporting Carbon Pricing: How to identify policies that...

For almost a century, streets have belonged to cars and trucks. But in cities around the world, and most definitely in Toronto, calls are growing louder for streets to be opened up to everyone. This change, in large measure, is being driven by increasing numbers of cyclists and pedestrians who want better, safer...

On May 25, TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin held a panel discussion on how social entrepreneurs are breaking down the barriers that many Canadians face in finding employment.
Building Up Executive Director Marc Soberano explained the “sector strategies” approach employed by his organization,...

Three strategies for systems impact
Metcalf’s Inclusive Local Economies Program supports strategies that can create sustainable economic opportunities for low-income people and communities in Toronto. The Foundation is keenly interested in how innovations that succeed at the neighbourhood level can be scaled up...

Reflections and Lingering Questions
Metcalf’s Creative Strategies Incubator (CrSI) supports performing arts companies over a three-year period as they explore new strategies to address an intractable issue facing the sector.
Each cohort of CrSI participants convenes throughout the year to share their learning and...

In her introduction to Choreographing our Future, Metcalf Innovation Fellow Shannon Litzenberger observes that for the performing arts sector, today’s environment is radically different than in decades past. “New pressures to explore alternative funding and revenue sources have given rise to a new generation of...

The goal of Metcalf’s Cycle City Program is to help build a constituency and a culture that support cycling in Toronto.
Cycle City funding supports public education and community organizing, network building and convening, research and public policy analysis, and other complementary efforts that can advance...

The Metcalf Foundation has a long history of supporting the professional development of leaders in the non-profit sector. Building on this longstanding commitment, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Leading and Learning Program. This program replaces the Foundation’s Renewal Program.
The Foundation...

Metcalf’s Environment Program has released its application guidelines for the 2017 Enabling Solutions funding stream.
The goal of Enabling Solutions is to help advance the regulatory, policy, and economic actions required for building a low-carbon, resource efficient, and resilient Canada.
Funding will support...

The National Housing Collaborative (NHC) is a pan-Canadian coalition of non-profit and private housing associations and major foundations. The collaborative was created in response to the federal government’s focus on a national housing strategy.
Housing affordability is a pressing issue facing millions of...

Metcalf’s Internship Program seeks to strengthen the performing arts by investing in the sector’s most valuable resource — its people.
The program provides paid work opportunities for artists, administrators, and production staff in the early to mid stages of their careers. Interns work closely with mentors and...

In a recent article in the digital magazine Policy Options, Simon Fraser University Professor Jonn Axsen seeks to dismantle the popular narrative that electric vehicles will soon be commonplace on Canada’s streets.
“One of the most dangerous beliefs about the electric vehicle revolution is that it’s in...

Metcalf’s Environment Program has released its application guidelines for the 2017 Cycle City funding stream.
The goal of Cycle City is to support and strengthen an active constituency and a culture of cycling in Toronto. In 2017, funding will be directed towards public education and community organizing,...

An important first step has been made in reforming Canada’s controversial Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
On December 13, the government pledged to reverse the program’s cumulative duration rule—also known as the “4-in/4-out” rule—which was established by the previous government in 2011....

If the world is to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, the International Energy Agency suggests that 40 percent of new passenger vehicle sales must be electric by 2040.
However, a frank new assessment released by Simon Fraser University’s Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team (START) and funded...

The Resilient Neighbourhood Economies (RNE) project focused on building sustainable economic opportunities for low-income people and ran from 2012 to 2015. The project was a partnership between Metcalf’s Inclusive Local Economies Program and two community-based organizations. During RNE’s three years, both...

Metcalf’s Inclusive Local Economies Program focuses on improving economic livelihoods for low-income people in Toronto. The program’s Opportunities Fund is an open call for innovative ideas and compelling approaches that can contribute to building a healthier, more equitable city by:
making precarious jobs better...

Metcalf’s Creative Strategies Incubator makes a substantial ask of its participants. Each year, it brings together a group of performing arts companies to address an issue currently facing their industry. Over a three-year period, they share their learning, build upon each other’s solutions, and embrace...

On October 8, City Council voted to install bike lanes on Woodbine Avenue. As the first separated bike lanes east of the Don Valley Parkway, they’ll soon provide a safer cycling route connecting the edge of Scarborough with downtown Toronto.
According to Dr. Marvin Macaraig, Project Coordinator at Scarborough...

In the past month, three Metcalf grantees from the Environment program released timely research examining Canada’s positions and policies on climate change.
what do canadians think about climate change?
A Nanos Research poll commissioned by Clean Energy Canada examined Canadians’ attitudes towards...

From an exploration of cross-border resources, to a residency for Indigenous theatre artists, six new projects are being launched as part of our 2016 Learning Network.
Click on each company’s logo to read about their initiatives.

The Opportunities Fund is an open call for original ideas and compelling approaches that contribute to creating sustainable economic opportunities and generating wealth for low-income people and communities in Toronto.
Four grants have been approved in the second round of 2016, all of which build upon previously...

Metcalf’s Internship program seeks to strengthen the performing arts by investing in the sector’s most valuable resource — its people.
The program provides paid work opportunities for artists, administrators, and production staff in the early to mid stages of their careers. Interns work closely with...

Metcalf, in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program and with support from the Counselling Foundation of Canada, is pleased to announce that the 2016–17 Toronto Sector Skills Academy begins on October 14, 2016.
The Toronto Sector Skills Academy is a ten-month learning and leadership...

When greenhouse employee Gabriel Allahdua was forced to live in a house with 62 other workers, he knew there was nothing he could do to criticize his conditions. Allahdua was a migrant worker from St. Lucia who had entered Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). If he spoke out about this...

Through reports such as Canada’s Choice and Made in Canada, Metcalf Innovation Fellow Fay Faraday has extensively documented how exploitation and inequality are embedded within the design of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
On September 14th, Faraday joined filmmaker Min Sook Lee and...

As anyone who’s crammed into a subway car or tried to drive the Gardiner during rush hour will know, when it comes to transit in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area, we’re all in this together. Yet the debates around public transit funding often split people into opposing camps — transit users against those...

To address the growing interest and need for sector-focused workforce development, the Metcalf Foundation is establishing the Toronto Sector Skills Academy. Its goal is to build the capacity of local leaders to grow, strengthen, and sustain sector strategies within the city. This leadership program is the first of its...

The vitality of the cultural sector is dependent upon the strength and diversity of its leadership. But as a generation of cultural managers approaches retirement age—and young workers struggle to find their footing in an often-precarious industry—how will we ensure that vital knowledge and skills are shared...

Offering up a unique blend of theatre, dance, music, and live art, the genre-fusing SummerWorks Festival is renowned for encouraging its artists and audiences to take risks, explore unexpected collaborations, and venture into new territory.
It’s also famous for its scope. SummerWorks is Canada’s largest...

An arts manager and theatre champion whose career spans decades, Nancy Webster has made an incredible mark on Toronto’s theatre community. She has held key leadership roles at the Toronto Fringe Festival and the Factory Theatre, and is now the executive director at Young People’s Theatre (YPT).
In...

Metcalf’s Creative Strategies Incubator program is designed to help professional performing arts companies explore new strategies for addressing longstanding sectoral issues. Through an accompanying Learning Network, participants are encouraged to nurture the organizational change that comes from developing and...

Metcalf commissioned the Green Prosperity Papers to connect university-based researchers in Ontario with timely public policy challenges that bridge the environment and economy. Each paper identifies opportunities for building a low-carbon, resource efficient, and resilient southern Ontario, through topics such as...

Metcalf Innovation Fellow Sarah Schulman and her organization InWithForward are driven by a singular idea: that effective social service design begins and ends with people.
It’s a deceptively simple concept. Their “Grounded Change” philosophy promotes a thorough understanding of a target...

In recognition of his commitment to community organizing and social justice, Nick Saul has been awarded an Honourary Doctorate of Laws from Ryerson University’s Faculty of Community Services.
During his 15-year tenure as executive director of The Stop Community Food Centre, Saul transformed the organization...

It’s been a great bike month for Toronto cyclists.
On June 9th, City Council voted 38-2 to approve Toronto’s 10-year Cycling Plan, which will add hundreds of kilometers of bike infrastructure across the city. Council also voted to double the City’s cycling budget to $16 million a year.
Click to view the...

Toronto’s King Street is a commercial and creative hub, and it has long acted as a critical artery for the thousands of daily commuters who move through the city’s downtown core. But as its surrounding population swells, and traffic slows to a standstill, how can we design a more functional, free-flowing...

On May 12th, the Metcalf Foundation and InWithForward hosted a public event to share the results from the Learning Circle, our 6-month experiment in social sector capacity building.
The Learning Circle was a network of 23 non-profit leaders and policy makers who came together every two weeks to learn to apply the...

Bike Month is an annual celebration of cycling in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Featuring hundreds of community events throughout the month of June — including group rides, guided bike tours, festivals, workshops, art exhibitions, and film screenings — it’s an opportunity for cyclists of all skill...

In recognition of her work in human rights and social justice law, Fay Faraday has been selected as the 2016 recipient of the Spirit of Barbra Schlifer Award. The award is given to a Canadian woman who has made a demonstrable contribution to increasing women’s access to safety and justice.
“Fay’s commitment...

An Angus Reid Forum poll shows that Torontonians from across the city strongly support a safe cycling network—and they want it built as soon as possible.
The poll, commissioned by Evergreen in partnership with Cycle Toronto, Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, and the Metcalf Foundation, found that 86% of...

Metcalf’s Inclusive Local Economies program was created to improve the economic livelihoods of low-income people in Toronto. Now four years into the program, Metcalf and our community of grantees have tested several new approaches and identified important strategies and areas of focus.
On April 20th, many of...

In a 38-3 vote, Toronto City Council has approved a pilot project that will install separated bike lanes along Bloor Street.
The 2.6-kilometre stretch of lanes will run eastbound and westbound between Shaw Street and Avenue Road. The lanes will be established in late summer, and will be in effect for a one-year...

Driven by its mission to “tell the stories behind the stories on stage,” a new digital magazine is shining a spotlight on Toronto’s performing arts community.
Intermission Magazine is produced by The Company Theatre and written by theatre professionals and arts journalists. It publishes feature articles on...

Clean, renewable, and increasingly affordable, solar and wind power present attractive alternatives to carbon-based energy sources.
But weather patterns are erratic. Wind power is generally more effective at night when energy needs are lowest, and an overcast day can slow solar energy output to a standstill. Without...

Drop-in centres are a vital resource for street-involved adults. They help address the immediate needs of people without stable shelter, and help them on their paths to establishing more permanent housing. But while the experiences of drop-in centre users—and the resources available to them—vary greatly based...

Sand, gravel, and crushed stone are used in virtually all commercial, industrial, and public works construction. As Southern Ontario’s population continues to expand, the demand for these versatile building materials grows with it. Yet the extraction of aggregate materials can pose substantial risks to the...

The Toronto Bike Awards are an annual celebration organized by cycling advocacy group Cycle Toronto and the City of Toronto that honour people and organizations that demonstrate leadership in encouraging cycling for employees, customers, and the community.
At this year’s event, held on February 24th, the...

On Friday, February 19th, Metcalf Foundation Innovation Fellow John Stapleton appeared on Business News Network to discuss how rising food prices are affecting Canadian families, particularly those on low incomes.
“The welfare diet is up 107% over that twenty-year period,” noted Stapleton, “even though...

Metcalf’s Environment Program has three focus areas. In 2016, applications to Cycle City and Electrifying Movement are by RFP and invitation-only. Applications to Enabling Solutions are due April 13, 2016. Enabling Solutions funds efforts to advance fiscal policy reforms, to research and communicate...

In December 2015, York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies officially plugged in its new solar-powered vehicle charging station. The charging station is part of an initiative, funded in part by Metcalf, to craft an accessible and affordable electric vehicle strategy and to develop policy recommendations...

The Environment Program held an informative and lively event on December 1st featuring two visionary city builders: Janette Sadik-Khan and Jennifer Keesmaat.
Drawing on her experience as New York City’s Transportation Commissioner and more recently as a Principal at Bloomberg Associates, Janette’s keynote explored...

A new Metcalf-funded report by Pembina Institute finds momentum and support for cycling is growing in Toronto, however the city still has the least cycling infrastructure per capita when compared to four other Canadian cities. The report highlights five key findings:
Calgary has the most cycling infrastructure per...

Michael Trent has joined Metcalf as Performing Arts Program Director. Michael brings with him extensive experience in consultation and collaboration with artists and arts organizations, at the local and national levels, on issues including strategic planning, transition, curatorial expertise, artistic assessment and...

Two Metcalf grantees have released timely reports addressing pragmatic ways to advance urban sustainability.
Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission’s We Can’t Get There From Here: Why Pricing Congestion is Critical to Beating It outlines how congestion pricing can help reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and...

West Neighbourhood House’s Meeting Place is a drop-in at the corner of Queen and Bathurst. On any given day dozens of its members gather for food, company, warmth, and interaction. Many members experience mental health challenges, addictions, and are living with abuse and trauma. This is particularly true among the...

This Performing Arts Program focuses on leveraging opportunities for new approaches and shared learning. The Program seeks to reach this goal through two initiatives: Creative Strategies Incubator and Performing Arts Internships. The 2016 guidelines for each of these initiatives are now available.
The 2016 focus...

Job quality in Canada has steadily declined since the late 1980s with an erosion of full-time jobs and a rise of part-time and precarious work. Yet these conditions have barely entered the conversation in this fall’s federal election campaign. That’s the subject of a Toronto Star article which features comments by...

From an online theatre arts magazine to a leadership training program for women, four new projects are being launched as part of our 2015 Learning Network.
Click on each company’s logo to read about their initiatives.

Metcalf grantee, Clean Energy Canada, released their second Tracking the Energy Revolution – Canada report in September. Part of an annual series of publications that shine a light on key transitions toward a clean energy future, the 2015 report tracks key milestones in Canada’s clean energy sector, notable new...

On November 10, Danforth East Community Association (DECA), a Metcalf grantee, is hosting an all-day forum: Building Vibrant Communities and Energizing Main Streets. Keynote Speaker Jennifer Keesmaat, Chief Planner City of Toronto, with other guest speakers will discuss how local communities and businesses can work...

Metcalf is proud to be a lead sponsor for this one of a kind conference. The 2015 Complete Streets Forum, organized by Metcalf grantee Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, brings together community leaders, public officials, and professionals working across sectors to advance complete streets in Canada. Featuring...

Bill 6, The Ontario Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, was approved on June 4. The legislation includes provisions for Community Benefits: “Infrastructure planning and investment should promote community benefits, being the supplementary social and economic benefits arising from an infrastructure project...

The goal of the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation is to enhance the effectiveness of people and organizations working together to help Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy, and creative society.
Across its three programs areas – leveraging opportunities for new approaches and shared learning in...

Metcalf grantee, Clean Energy Canada, released their second Tracking the Energy Revolution – Global report in early July. Part of an annual series of publications that shine a light on key transitions toward a clean energy future, the 2015 report identified ten notable trends in technology, policy, and...

The Metcalf Foundation’s Performing Arts Program Director, Michael Jones, will be leaving the Foundation at the beginning of October to assume the role of CEO at the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
Michael has made a significant contribution to the sector since joining the Foundation in 2007. He revamped Metcalf’s...

In 2014, the last coal-fired electricity station in Ontario was shut down, eliminating a significant source of air pollution in the province. Lessons from the 17-year campaign leading up to this moment are captured in a new report, Ontario’s Coal Phase Out, from former Metcalf grantee Ontario Clean Air...

On June 3, Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, a Metcalf grantee, hosted an event in Toronto featuring an all-star line-up of speakers on the topic of Ontario’s climate action plan, specifically its commitment to implement a cap-and-trade system. Coinciding with this event, the Commission released a brief outlining...

In early July, Metcalf opened up its backyard to host an informal gathering and open house. Long-standing grantees, fellow funders, advisory committee members and staff mingled over appetizers by caterToronto, a community-based catering network seeded by Metcalf funding.

Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Toronto Arts Council, and the Metcalf Foundation are working together to advance the discussion around the topic of shared charitable platforms in the arts and to enable the establishment of a pilot project. As a first stage in this process, the funding partners...

The ability of small business to be a transformative force for cities was a topic on TVO’s The Agenda this week. Panelists discussed the resilience of local businesses and the vibrancy they bring to neighbourhoods. Inclusive Local Economies Program Director Adriana Beemans, raised issues of local micro...

A new report by Munir Sheikh, published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, assesses the complex relationships between income inequality, social mobility, and the tax-transfer system. It highlights the research of Metcalf Innovation Fellow John Stapleton, notably his Zero Dollar Linda report, which examines the...

In response to our RFP around the topic of resourcing the performing arts sector, Metcalf is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Innovation Fellows: Elizabeth MacKinnon and Christine Pellerin. Working collaboratively, MacKinnon and Pellerin will explore the feasibility of social finance as a new revenue...

Dollars and Sense: Opportunities to Strengthen Southern Ontario’s Food System, is a groundbreaking study that assesses the economic and environmental impacts of regional food systems. It identifies how local food production and distribution can create jobs, improve environmental practices, and make healthy food...

In 2015, the goal of Metcalf’s Environment Program will be to help build a low-carbon, resource efficient, and resilient Canada. Our funding will have three focus areas: Cycle City, Electrifying Movement and Enabling Solutions. We look forward to advancing pragmatic approaches in support of bold visions in each...

On November 4, 2014, Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission was launched with the release of their inaugural report. The commission was formed by a group of experienced, policy-minded economists from across the country, seeking to broaden the discussion of ecofiscal policy reform beyond the academic sphere and into the...

Metcalf Innovation Fellow Tom Zizys talked to Toronto Star columnist Carol Goar about his new paper, Better Work: The path to good jobs is through employers, which outlines the challenges that Ontario’s labour market faces and the deliberate strategies we can employ to address them. Read the article.

In 2014, we added a new requirement to the application process for our Performing Arts Internships: a 60-second video featuring the prospective intern and mentor speaking together. It personalized the applications really nicely – but we also saw a number of common challenges. Here are some things to keep in mind.
1....

From a summer music academy to an online hub for participatory arts practice, six new projects are being launched as part of our 2014 Learning Network.
Click on each company’s logo to read about their initiatives.

We are pleased to announce that Andre Vallillee is Metcalf’s new Environment Program Director. Andre joins us from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, where he worked as a Program Manager overseeing the province-wide environmental grants portfolio and serving as Strategy Lead for the environment sector. Andre...

Metcalf Innovation Fellow Jane Marsland will speak to the findings from Shared Platforms and Charitable Venture Organizations at a joint presentation by Arts Consultants Canada and the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres on the afternoon of Thursday, December 12, 2013. Click here to register for the...

The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to launch our new Creative Strategies Incubator program. The program will support professional performing arts organizations as they work together to find strategic approaches to sectoral issues. Letters of interest for the first round of the program will be due March 11, 2013. To...

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new Inclusive Local Economies Program.
The world of work has changed. In the past, many low-wage jobs in Toronto were the first rung on an economic ladder that led to greater skills, meaningful vocations, and higher pay. But today’s low-wage jobs are often dead-end,...

Metcalf is 50 years old this year, and to mark this anniversary we have made a small number of special one-time grants designed to celebrate and strengthen our city. Over its history, the Foundation has made sustained contributions to the vitality of our urban life, most recently by focusing our efforts on enhancing...

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In case you missed it, Metcalf Innovation Fellow John Stapleton was the guest on Friday's @CBCOntarioToday where he commented on changes the new provincial government is making to social assistance. https://t.co/K31aGMug83 @Rampagehall #Metcalf

Listen to @GrahamSaul on @cbcallinaday at 4:45 today talking about his Metcalf Innovation Fellowship paper "Environmentalists, what are we fighting for?" If you like what you hear, you can download the full report here https://t.co/5Bw8TlSkqJ @NatureCanada #metcalf #environment

Metcalf Innovation Fellow @GrahamSaul November 19 Ottawa launch of his paper "Environmentalists, what are we fighting for?" is sold out but you can download his paper here https://t.co/Hsc2PjlWw5 @EcologyOttawa @NatureCanada #metcalf #climatechange #environment

If you like what you read, download Graham Saul's full paper "Environmentalists, what are we fighting for?"from our site. #MFSpotlight #MetcalfEnvironment #MetcalfInnovationFellow https://t.co/t7fr7ayFXS

Just released, "Environmentalists, what are we fighting for?" is a timely & provocative new paper by Metcalf Innovation Fellow Graham Saul based on interviews with 116 leading environmentalists https://t.co/1mijZ8BhLx #MFSpotlight #MetcalfInnovationFellow #Metcalf @GrahamSaul

Great article on Metcalf grantee Sabina Ali and the @tpwomenscomm cafe in today's @thestar https://t.co/ZnKwzHcshE For more on this remarkable initiative, see our photo essay by @GuntarKravis https://t.co/dCEply8wLa #MFSpotlight

Our inaugural Photo Essay profiles the Thorncliffe Park Women's Committee Cafe. The food is as delicious as it looks. But don't take our word for it - the cafe is open Friday nights from 3 pm - 8pm. Photos by @GuntarKravis https://t.co/bIG4c50nnA #MFSpotlight @tpwomenscomm

The Metcalf Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of fourteen Toronto-based performing arts companies and organizations for acceptance into Stage 1 of Staging Change https://t.co/baeAh6qRV7 #MFSpotlight @EmcArts

Some important news from our Environment Program: the Hudson Bay and James Bay Lowlands and the Mackenzie River Basin have been chosen as our geographical areas of funding focus under Carbon Landscapes’ Strategy 2. https://t.co/BN3MaB0RrH #MFSpotlight

Metcalf Innovation Fellow John Stapleton reflects on the Ontario Government's plan to revoke the basic income pilot program and 19 planned reforms designed to help people escape poverty in a powerful @TorontoStar op ed #basicincome #MFSpotlight @Rampagehall

The Foundation is delighted to announce that it is renewing its grant to the National Theatre School's Artistic Leadership Residency Program, supporting 2 candidates from Ontario over the next 2 years. Deadline to apply August 30. https://t.co/kQ2z4r4xU3 @NTSofCanada #MFSpotlight

"Toronto’s Great Streets", a new Metcalf funded report by Ryerson University's City Building Institute highlights where the city redesigned streets to better accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit users & the community. https://t.co/2DvIcXRRV1 @RyersonCBI #MFSpotlight